Russia's Rosneft has paid back billions owed to own units

Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil company has repaid billions of dollars it borrowed from its subsidiaries, the Vedomosti business daily reported Tuesday.

The money was believed to have been used to finance its December purchase of Yuganskneftegaz, a giant Siberian oil unit formerly owned by the Yukos oil company, Vedomosti said.

Rosneft never disclosed how it had financed the acquisition, and many details remain unclear. Analysts speculate that Rosneft paid back the loans using an advance payment of US$6 billion (€4.75 billion) it received from China National Petroleum Corp. for future crude supplies.

Associated Press